The board believes that indiscriminate tweeting may result in a leak of dressing room secrets.

The England cricket team's management, supported by captain Andrew Strauss, intends to introduce a clause in the new ECB contracts for 2010-2011, banning players from tweeting while playing for the country.

The ECB will also stipulate that to qualify for an England contract, players must sign for a county club.

The players, however, see their social networking activities as a harmless diversion. which help them promote their sponsors by frequently mentioning their brands in messages.